ColinM

Bear in mind that Chinese food is actually an American representation of what Chinese food should be, i.e. reduce the spice, reduce the heat and reduce the authenticity of the ingredients. Then add plenty of sugar. Believe it or not there's a lot of people out there running around thinking they're eating real Chinese food. Now apply the same concept to every other ethnic or foreign food and serve. The assumption follows that to make these foods palatable to the American public they have to be altered sufficiently first. It therefore becomes hardly credible to call ethnic food, 'ethnic' any longer. I guess sugar is a cheap additive. The restauranteurs must be lapping it up. Throw out any old trash and the dumb schmucks will swallow it. Obviously I am in that small minority of people that have been exposed to a different culinary experience. I am therefore dissatisfied with the standard of ethnic food in the Valley of The Sun. I believe that the public are being misled and their palates are being trained to think of ethnic foods in a misrepresented way, i.e. they won't recognise the real McCoy should they ever come across it.
I hope I have made you think and would appreciate your thoughts and experiences.